Kathrin Göring

Christian Hornef

Oper Leipzig

Overwhelming audience demand has helped certify the success enjoyed by the Musical Comedy's series of baby concerts. Once again, children are allowed to bring up to two adults, and little ones can crawl, squeal, and delight to their heart's content to the sounds of classical music.

Baby Concert Musical Comedy

During a concert, Dutch singer Maartje de Lint had a sudden realization about the topic of dementia. Since then, she has actively worked for individuals with dementia, and, with the support of scientists, has developed special sing-along concerts for individuals and families affected by illness. Since the 2017/18 season, the Oper Leipzig has offered these concerts in cooperation with the Selbst-Determined Leben eV association.

A song sings within me

On selected dates, we will sneak into a stage orchestra rehearsal of the Musical Comedy Orchestra together, take a first look at the new production and experience how balance, gestures, facial expressions and techniques are being screwed and tinkered with, because the premiere is drawing ever closer! Before and after the rehearsal, you will have the opportunity to talk to those involved in the production and learn exciting new things.

Sample of a musical comedy

»Die Fledermaus« is considered the ultimate operetta, full of waltzes, polkas, who-with-whom, champagne, mistaken identity, masquerading and fraternization. How refreshing it is that Gabriel von Eisenstein, eager to have some quick fun with young ladies before he goes to prison, is repaid tit-for-tat by his wife Rosalinde: with her old vocal coach Alfred. Only a tenor could be so audacious! Adele, the maid, has high aspirations, but first she attends the ball as Miss Olga in the dress of her gracious lady. And this is how all the lovable characters, who are not too concerned with the truth, converge at the ball of Prince Orlofsky. He is young, rich, bored – such a retaliatory action by Dr. Falke is just what he needs. The latter has a score to settle with Eisenstein: "This is the way the bat takes revenge!" Orlofsky's ball becomes a stage. And in the end they all meet again in prison. Here Herr von Eisenstein learns who his close pal, the Chevalier Chagrin, really is and what the doppelganger in his dressing gown is all about. Eisenstein's acquittal is celebrated with champagne, because after all, he alone was to blame, was he not?

The bat

Musikalische Komödie

Holidays at last: check into a beautiful hotel and unwind – ideally with a view of the water. But no: at the hotel “Weißes Rössl” (“The White Horse Inn”) on the shores of the lake “Wolfgangsee”, things are going haywire. Farewell relaxation! The inn is completely packed, work and personal life become indistinguishable, and both staff and guests are wildly in love, which, due to mix-ups and secrets, keeps ending in chaos. After layoffs, dismissals and tears, however, a few things can be clarified – both professionally and privately. The next holiday is bound to follow!

The White Horse Inn

Whether Undine, Rusalka, or Ariel, mermaids have historically been all the rage in children's literature – and the present is no exception. These creatures – half-human, half-animal – that move between worlds provide endless fascination. After Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals, The Little Mermaid is one of the most performed orchestral works for children in the German-speaking world.

The Little Mermaid

Three worlds, three waters, three lives merge into one breath: Anouk, a young writer, endures a relentless struggle to draw breath, as she suffers from cystic fibrosis. This struggle leads her on a journey into the past, to another country, to another woman. She is spellbound as she reconstructs the mysterious story of the »Inconnue de la Seine«, the unknown body found in the Seine shrouded in secrecy. As Anouk immerses herself in this French tragedy, she recognises the connections between her own life, that of the unknown woman, and that of a Norwegian dollmaker. The man, scarred by the loss of his drowned son, designs a doll that can be used to learn mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He selects the death mask of the »Inconnue de la Seine« for the doll's visage, and its smile will now save lives. This opera links three lives across the flow of time. The Leipzig-based composer Bernd Franke, who explores musical, social and topographical boundaries, has created a life-affirming, hope-filled opera that crosses times and countries. In the end, everything is one and we are a part of it.

Coming up for air

This opera, which Puccini himself considered his favorite and best work, moves everyone who hears it. In the summer of 1900, Puccini saw David Belasco’s theater piece »Madame Butterfly« in a London Theater, and was indelibly touched. It was a tragic story of very human proportions, coupled with an old-fashioned dose of Far East exoticism. As Belasco did, Puccini set his opera in the present, in the year 1904, the year of its world premiere. The strict rules and customs of Japanese society are confronted by the western world, in the form of the American marine lieutenant Pinkerton. For him, his fictitious marriage with the young geisha Cio-Cio San, also called »Butterfly«, is nothing more than an exotic romantic adventure. For her, though, it is the chance of a lifetime: Fascinated by the notion of the different, freer world that her lover could give her, she’s ready to break with everything she’s ever known. She believes steadfastly that Pinkerton will return to her, even long after he has left Japan. And when he finally does return, after three years, it spells disaster.

Madama Butterfly

With Tristan und Isolde, Richard Wagner created his most radical and most sensual opera. Two lovers are drawn into a whirlwind of desire and passion. Their only possible salvation is death. Wagner wrote a timeless, eternal “infinite melody,” or “infinite melody,” that would forever irrevocably change the course of music history.

Tristan and Isolde

With stirring music and arguably the greatest love story in the literary canon, “Romeo and Juliet” is one of the most popular ballets of all time. The tale of young, impetuous love and deep-seated, age-old hatred has been adapted countless times for stage, film and television.

Romeo and Juliet

Lortzing's popular play opera features many of his signature themes, including craftsmanship, love and comical mix-ups, as well as a humorous yet critical view of the bourgeoisie and the nobility.

The Armourer

Long live freedom! In 1848, when Albert Lortzing wrote his impressive last opera "Regina", was a revolution. And that is exactly what the work, which Lortzing named after his wife, is about: Two politically active factory workers love Regina, the daughter of the factory owner Simon. But they belong to different camps. One of them, Stephan, is a radical rebel who occupies the factory and holds Regina in his power. However, she is engaged to the more peace-loving Richard. In the end, all their lives and the awakening harmony lie in Regina's hands. Lortzing's revolutionary opera was kept under lock and key and censored for a long time. Perhaps its time has now come once again: Time for peace and freedom.

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